


Chrysanthemums and Sinister Bunnies

by Mel_S_Bancroft



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-05-09 20:41:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5554646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mel_S_Bancroft/pseuds/Mel_S_Bancroft
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Rikkaidai regulars try to make the perfect birthday present for Yukimura. Set in their third year of high school, after the third years have retired.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chrysanthemums and Sinister Bunnies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nfra3711](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nfra3711/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Tea, Flowers, and First Encounter](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4682408) by [nfra3711](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nfra3711/pseuds/nfra3711). 



> Inspired by a conversation between nfra3711 and me.
> 
> Dear gods, please help me, I have no idea how to write Rikkai and they're one of my favorite teams. I hope they're not _too_ out of character...

“Yanagi,” Jackal said as he approached the data-man one day during lunch. “Buchou’s—ah, Yukimura’s—birthday is coming up, so I was thinking of getting him a bag and stitching flowers on it. He likes chrysanthemums, right?”

The other nodded. “You have the bag already?”

“I do,” he confirmed. “It’s in my classroom. I’ll go get it and show you my plans so far for it.” With that, he turned and dashed out of the room as quickly as he could, weaving around students and desks.

“Gen’ichirou,” Yanagi called to his classmate as he pulled out his phone. “Come over here. We’re pooling ideas for Seiichi’s birthday present.” At the same time, his fingers quickly tapped out the same message to the rest of his former teammates.

Pushing back his chair, Sanada stood and glided over to his friend’s side. “We’re getting him a bag?”

“We are. The team is going to help Jackal come up with things to put on it.”

Just then, the door slid open and Jackal stepped in, canvas messenger bag clutched in his arms, Marui hot on his heels. The half-Brazilian threaded his way back over to Yanagi and pulled up a chair to the side of his desk, plopping down on it and dropping the bag unceremoniously on the data-man’s desk. Marui pulled out the chair belonging to the desk in front of Yanagi’s and seated himself backwards in it, folding his arms over the part of the desk not occupied by fabric and resting his chin atop them. Kirihara and the remaining former Rikkai regulars soon arrived and circled around them.

Straightening out the bag, Jackal gestured along the left edge of the flap with half-curled fingers. “Along here I was going to put two large chrysanthemums, but that’s all I have so far. I don’t know what else he would like.”

“Calligraphy,” declared Sanada firmly, slapping a hand down on the exact center. “Right here.” He crossed his arms across his chest. “As a good luck charm.”

“What about strawberries?” Marui asked, eyes sparkling. “And bunnies. Those go with flowers, right? Ooh, and cake. Jackal, buy me strawberry shortcake!”

“Bunta, you’re going to get fat.”

As the redhead rolled his eyes and began to protest that _no_ , he would _not_ , that’s what _tennis_ was for, he hasn’t stopped playing tennis, just retired from club, Kirihara grinned, teeth bared almost predatorily. “It needs something more sinister.” He gasped slightly, eyes widening innocently as he snapped out of his thoughts. “I mean buchou! More—more buchou!” he corrected, laughing nervously.

“Not the bunnies!” Marui exclaimed in despair at the same time as Yanagi leveled a reprimanding glare at his kouhai, saying, “Akaya. You’re the buchou now, and this bag is not for you.”

“I know that, senpai!” the seaweed-headed teen whined.

The previously silent Yagyuu pushed his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose. “What about acanthus?” he asked levelly. Niou rested his chin on his shoulder, grabbing his arm in both hands as he hummed in agreement in that somewhat suggestive way of his, and the brunet swatted him off in mild annoyance.

“Ah, I don’t really—”

Already knowing what the half-Brazilian was going to say, Yanagi pushed his phone across the desk toward him. On it displayed photos of bush-like plants with multiple pale pinkish-purple flowers on each stalk that stood up from the center of the mass of leaves. Jackal nodded a few times to himself as he slid the phone back. “I can do that.”

Under the growing clamor of calligraphy and sinister bunnies and amused petenshi laughter, Jackal and Yanagi continued smoothing out design plans.

“What color were you thinking for the chrysanthemums?” the data-man asked.

“A yellow would look nice with the purple acanthus, I think.”

He nodded. “Quite.”

“Probably a golden— _I am_ not _doing sinister bunnies!_ ”

The group quieted for a moment at Jackal’s outburst. Then Kirihara started up again about how he hadn’t _meant_ to say sinister, and he hadn’t _meant_ for it to apply to the bunnies because bunnies were cute and certainly not _sinister,_ and Marui whined about how bunnies should only be fluffy and adorable and not sinister _at all_ and can he have cake _now?_ over Yagyuu’s sighs and Niou’s snickers and Sanada stewing quietly in the background. Groaning, Jackal slumped forward to lay his head face-down on the desk in defeat.


End file.
